Unwanted firsts or leading threats are: 

• Number 1 source for arms trafficking which supports and heavily arms organised crime and drug trafficking organisations in Mexico and the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Honduras & Nicaragua), which has made this region and the Caribbean a much more violent and dangerous place.

• Number 1 destination for human smuggling from the Americas, not least as a result of the conditions created by arms trafficking as set out above. Human Smuggling proceeds estimated at between US$3.7-US$4.2 billion (2016) including from Mexico and  between US$200 million and US$2.3 billion (2017) from the Northern Triangle region of Central America—Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, with individual costs estimates ranging from US$4,000 to US$12,000 per individual per trip (less from Mexico – more from further afield). it is estimated that 370,000 Central American migrants attempted to enter the US (2016), but only 11% successfully made it through, with the rest interdicted by either US (56%) or Mexican authorities (33%). 

• Additionally that 50% to 75% of migrants smuggled have to pay drug trafficking transnational organised crime organisations for passage through areas controlled by them and these payment figures ranged from US$300 to US$700, which could generate about USD30 – USD180 million in 2017.

• Number 1 destination for illicit drugs, with 10.7 million people with illegal drug use disorders (an increase of 91% between 1990 and 2019), representing 3.7% of the population (an increase of 62% between 1990 and 2019), much greater than the world average (0.94%). 100,306 drug overdose deaths during the 12-month period ending in April 2021, with overdose deaths from opioids increasing to 75,673, up from 56,064 the year before. Synthetic opioids (other than methadone) are currently the main driver of drug overdoses. 23 million Americans are in recovery from addiction including from drugs. Proceeds from drug trafficking has been estimated at US$64 – US$150 billion. Drug seizures whilst substantive, make little difference to the overall US illicit drugs market with enough supply to meet an increasing demand.

• Number 1 destination for fake goods, with US$1.3 billion in seizures (MRSP) in the US coming (by value) from China (50.5%), Hong Kong (32.8%), Turkey (2.4%), Vietnam (2%) & South Korea (1.9%) of watches & jewellery (33%), handbags & wallets (22%), consumer electronics (12%), wearing apparel/accessories (12%). Main modes of transport were express (flight) (45%), mail (7%), cargo (containers etc) (35%). Trade in fake goods is estimated globally at 3.3% of GDP – if applied to US imports of US$2.6 trillion (2019) it would generate US$86 billion. 

• Number 1 target for fraudsters, and the fastest growing crime including those using cyber means. Fraud proceeds at US$415 billion – including US government fraud of US$148 billion (healthcare & social security fraud), insurance fraud of US$308 billion & others including consumer fraud at US$5.6 billion – of which US$2.3 billion is due to imposter scams, while online shopping accounted for about US$392 million & card fraud at US$10.6 billion. The FBI’s Recovery Asset Team in 2011 assisted in freezing over US$328 million in funds for victims who were directed by criminals to make transfers to U.S. accounts under fraudulent pretences. COVID 19 relief program frauds are estimated at more than USD100 billion, with California estimating fraudulent losses of at least USD11 billion and perhaps even as high as USD30 billion, or 27% of the CARES Act spending.

• Number 1 target for cybercriminals with nearly 108 million Americans experienced some form of attempted cybercrime, and more than 719 million hours were lost with Americans spending an average of almost 7 hours to resolve the issues created. Synthetic identity theft is the fastest growing financial crime in the US. It also targets the most vulnerable citizens. The FBI received nearly 850,000 reports  in 2021. and reported losses reached US$6.9 billion. Older Americans bore the brunt of the financial hit. Estimates of reported proceeds in 2021 for cybercrime (US$6.9 billion), was made up of, business e mail compromise (BEC) at US$2.4 billion, confidence scams at US$956 million in victim losses & cryptocurrency losses which grew to US$1.6 billion in 2020, but with asset freezing of  US$328 million.

• Number 1 destination for imports of at risk products tied to human trafficking/forced labor estimated at USD144 billion out of an estimated USD354 billion imported by G20 countries (laptops, computers & mobile phones, garments, fish, cocoa, sugarcane). Estimates of victims of human trafficking vary but could be as high as 420,000 or 1.3 victims per 1,000 people, making the USA the largest market in absolute terms in the Americas, & 18th globally. The government response is rated highly as “BBB”. As far as proceeds from domestic human trafficking is concerned estimated proceeds are: US$6.5 billion, with US$4.3 billion from sexual exploitation, US$1.8 billion from forced labor and US$500 million from domestic servitude.

• 6th Worse score of G7 countries for corruption (ahead of just Italy), with a negative trend over the last 5 years & only 7th best out of 19 of G20 countries (not including EU as the 20th), with 7% of those surveyed in the US reported having paid a bribe & 64% think the US government is run by a few big interests looking out for themselves. Those sectors considered most corrupt (based on a scale 1–5, where 1 means not at all corrupt, 5 means extremely corrupt) were: Political Parties (4.1), US Congress (3.7%), Public Official / Civil Servants (3.6), Business / Private Sector (3.6%), Media (3.5%), Judicial system (3.3), Medical & Health (3.3), Police (3.3), Education system (3,1%), Religious Bodies (3.1), NGOs (3%), Military (2.9%). Costs of Corruption in the US estimated at between US$210 billion – US$1 trillion with values of bribes of US$21 billion.

• Number 1 in private financing of elections, with amounts paid by so called “Super PACs” in the 2012 Presidential election at US$600 million rising to over US$1 billion spent in 2016 & in the 2010 midterm elections for congress, less than US$100 million was spent which rose to more than US$300 million in 2014 and over US$800 million in 2018. US opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of US election (campaign) finance reform whether its Democrats or Republicans polled. In 2010 the US Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that companies and labor unions enjoy the same right to political speech as individuals. With this decision, many restrictions on money in American politics were undercut. Subsequently, so-called super PACs – political action committees that are financed in part by large corporations, their multibillionaire shareholders, or powerful unions – can pour hundreds of millions of dollars into political campaigns, as long as their efforts are independent of candidates. To many, the influx of large sums of money into American politics, puts corporate interests first, and results in corruption. Some even go so far as to claim that corruption has been effectively legalised and enshrined in the system. This probably why campaign finance reformers, politicians, and academics alike have been arguing for decades that large sums of money imperils US democracy.

• Number 1 in the value of proceeds from acquisitive crime at more than US$70 billion including from cargo theft at US$35 billion, organised retail theft at US$30-37 billion, vehicle theft at US$7.4 billion, precious metals & stones theft at US$838 million & cash at US$1.25 billion. Organised theft is a mainstay of organised crime.

• Number 2 in terms of gun deaths after Brazil, (in absolute terms – 20th in the world in per capita terms), with more mass shootings than anywhere else in the world.

• Number 1 when it comes to incarceration with prison numbers over 6.3 million, with 2.1 million in prison (compared to 200,000 in 1970) and 4.4 million under community surveillance on probation or on parole, disproportionately affecting the poor and people of colour. Over 19 million Americans living with felony convictions and approximately 70-100 million with criminal records. 

• Largest loss of life in a single terrorist attack, which saw more than 3,000 killed on 9th September, 2001, in a single day, since the battle of Antietam on September 17th 1862, which recorded 3,650 dead (2,100 Union troops; 1,550 Confederate troops) in the American Civil War. Whilst the 9/11 Attack on America was carried out by Al Qaeda, a foreign terrorist organisation, & the Islamist terrorist threat remains, domestic terrorism is in the rise with so called home grown white supremacists, with ready access to funds and weapons and considered the most significant terrorist threat at “home”. The recent increases in domestic terrorism began around 2014. From 2014 to 2021, there have been an average of 31 fatalities per year from so called domestic terrorism – indicating that 30 deaths in 2021 are typical of this period. This is substantially more than the period from 1994 to 2013, during which there were only three years in which more than 8 individuals were killed in terrorist attacks in the United States.

• Number 1 for the highest tax gap with tax evasion by individuals at least at US$37 billion (2021) but the tax gap could be as high as US$441 billion , or US$700 billion or US$1 trillion a year, according to the US government. The US is estimated to be inflicting at least USD20 billion on 3rd countries by facilitating tax abuse, and by enabling global private tax evasion, through its offshore financial services.